It is desirable to maximize the compaction of material, e.g. silage, stored in a storage bag to more effectively utilize the capacity of the bag and to dispel air/oxygen that enhances undesired spoilage of the bagged material. Such compaction is achieved by a compacting rotor that is mounted at a restricted inlet of the machine's tunnel. The rotor is a cylinder or pipe that has teeth mounted on the pipe surface in a prescribed pattern. Material is directed toward the inlet and the teeth of the rotor grab the material and force it rearward through the inlet and into the tunnel and toward the tunnel outlet. The outlet of the tunnel (inlet to the bag) is effectively blocked (material movement is resisted) until a sufficient force is applied. The material is accordingly compacted in the tunnel until the rearward thrust imparted by the rotor overcomes the resistance, moves the machine forward to deploy an incremental length of the bag, and the compacted material is thereby moved into the bag.
The bag is sized to fit the cross section of the tunnel and theoretically the material is moved as a compacted cylindrically shaped continuous block of the material that slides into the bag and fills the bag to its capacity. In actual experience, for any of a variety of reasons, the bag is not filled to capacity. Further, it has been learned that certain sizes of the bags, e.g., smaller sizes, will fill to capacity more effectively than the larger sizes. Whereas the rotors have been increased in size and power and speed to accommodate the larger machines for filling the larger bags, the non-capacity filling for the larger bags has persisted and a different answer to the problem was needed.